Machines

Abstract

I have a fascination with analog technologies in how they work and also in how we relate to them. They require a certain amount of physical interaction and care for them to be used. Through the design and construction of these machines, I have found a renewed appreciation for the design, execution and complication of these technologies. Art throughout time has largely been viewed at a distance. It is studied and looked at, yet engagement has only been a recent development in the art experience. I use analog technologies such as drawing machines that use pulley systems and wheels to make the mark on the paper and phonographs that make sound. I build these machines to not only create a dialogue with the viewer visually but to also have an all-encompassing experience through the use of sound and movement as well as touch. Clay is a medium of tactility. Through the use of cups, bowls, and other utilitarian vessels, ceramic objects have been a catalyst for experience. These vessels set the tone for conversations and interactions that bring art to our daily lives. With my sound machines, I have taken the ceramic object and turned it into a sound object or a record. The goal here is to create a different exchange of ideas through the repurposing of an old material. I am using these mechanisms that make sound and marks that create an all-encompassing understanding. The goal with these machines is too imbue the art experience with life. The creation of these devices also allows us to question our existence in relation to others through the interactive process.